Thursday, November 29, 2012

I suppose if
you live somewhere other than Alabama you may not think of Alabama as a tourist
state. In fact many people do not realize we have mountains or a beach in
Alabama. The real scoop is that Alabama is one of the fastest growing tourism
states and is up and coming, when many states suffer from the fact they used to
be a big tourist draw and now they are struggling. Alabama has a very diverse
landscape that attracts a diverse venue of visitor interests and experiences.
We have the mountains and lakes to the north, the black belt and coastal plains
midway south then we have the gulf coast. Alabama has become a top golfing
state with the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and we are a top fishing
destination with magnificent lakes and now The Alabama Bass Trail which will
promote fishing statewide. Some of the top fishing competitions in the world are
in Alabama including the upcoming 2014 Bass Masters Classic at Lake
Guntersville. We have Civil Rights tourism which has grow very quickly over the
last several years as national publications have written articles about Civil
Rights tourism in Alabama that includes the Civil Rights Museum and the 16th
Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the famous walk from Selma to
Montgomery and more attention is coming as the Civil Rights movement approaches
its 50th anniversary. Finally we have our Alabama Gulf coast which
has been a top attraction for many years. Much of our tourism is greatly
enhanced by the I-65 , I-20 and I-59 corridors that get our tourists here
easily from all directions. Last year tourists spent $10.4 billion dollars in
Alabama. This was our biggest year ever and our fist time to cross the 10B
mark. It is very simple math. We are a low cost destination, easy to get to and
we have a wide variety of things to see and do all across our very scenic
state. Our award winning state director of tourism, Lee Sentell and his staff
have constantly come up with clever ad plans that get nationwide exposure.
Alabama advertises on 46 Raycom network television stations that cover much of
our country including Hawaii. Currently Alabama’s theme in the commercial is “Alabama
Road Trips”. The commercials begin with a man setting out to take a road trip
in Alabama in his 1953 Blue Cadillac convertible. The road trips take him
different places in Alabama and they always include some of our great
restaurants and attractions. These are beautifully filmed and very inviting to
watch. They compel the viewer to want to make an Alabama Road Trip. Alabama
Tourism has also continued its 100 Dishes to eat in Alabama before you die.
This campaign focuses on our great diversity of food in our state. Increasingly
tourism has been contributing more to our economy. In this time of recession
tourism has grown every year in Alabama. In fact, since Lee Sentell became
Director of Tourism ten years ago the tourism income in Alabama has doubled. We
can be proud of the fact so many people want to spend time here with us from
all over the country.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Twice a year
the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) holds educational conferences for their 12
state southeastern USA coverage area. This fall we were in Virginia Beach. The
conference is always held in one of the 12 states participating with this
organization. STS is a leader in promoting tourism domestically and
internationally with its focus on bringing people to our region. They are also
a leader in education and development of tourism leaders and industry professionals
from Destination Marketing Organizations, like ours and from Convention and
Visitor Bureaus, attractions, lodgings, museums, theme parks, state and
national parks. In fact if your job is in tourism or related to tourism these
twice a year seminars are extremely beneficial. In this ever changing world
where technology is changing faster than ever it is critical that as an
industry we know how to utilize these technologies and strategies to help us
more effectively tell our story to our visitors and potential visitors.Those who do not adapt to the changes in the
market place will get left behind. Our visitors are finding out about us very
differently than they did just five years ago and completely different than
fifteen years ago. Marketing tourism has gone from years and years of running
ads in magazines and mailing out travel guides to the computer age of websites
and online travel guides to social media, smart phones and instant access to
travel information as you go.If you are
in our industry and do not have amobile website
or are not actively using social media, nearly 50% of today’s consumers will
ignore you. According to arecent industry
forecast given to us at our fall symposium, 40% of people are now getting some
or most of their information about travel on their smart phones or through
social media. It is predicted that in 2014 it will cross the 50% mark. In
addition to offering all the latest technologies we have to be offering them
correctly and smartly in order to be the destination that wins the customer.
Our spring and fall conference which is comprised of 200 plus people from all
over the southeast depend on this education to bring the information home and
implement it. Tourism has been a shining star in the economy during our economic
downturn that started in 2008, in fact tourism has had moderate growth as an
industry this whole time. Last January the federal government listed tourism as
the third fastest growing industries in the US with $3.1 trillion dollars spent
by tourists in the US. The industry currently employs more than 7 million
people. At this seminar we got a facts and figures update and trending report
from industry leader and educator Dr. Suzanne Cook, Ph.D., now consultant to US Travel and formerSenior Vice President of Research for the U.S. Travel Association. She
reported tourism should continue to grow and is gradually growing at a faster
rate as the overall economy improves. She reported that even though the average
consumer is travelling shorter distances on most of their vacations they are
taking shorter weekend trips, more often. Suzanne also reported international
travel is up especially from Japan, China, the UK, Germany and Brazil. Our
overseas vacationers are here for longer periods than domestic vacationers and
they spent more money on average. We do the same thing when we travel abroad.
All of the seminars at these conferences are specific to improving our
performance or updating us on the facts, figures and latest trends.

In addition
to the fall and spring conferences, STS offers a one of a kind three-year
Marketing College program to help educate new employees to the industry but
also to update seasoned veterans. Graduates of this program are awarded the TMP
(Travel Marketing Professional) diploma.

For more information
about the Southeast Tourism Society and how to become a member you can visit
their website at www.southeasttourism.org

About Me

Lookout Mountain Alabama & DeKalb County are full of many delightful surprises, all waiting to be discovered. It is a place to enjoy the sights and sounds of all four seasons. Springtime brings a renewal to the mountainous terrain as first the Redbud and Dogwood announce their arrival in a showy display of purple and white flowers. Then the hills come to life with blooms of pink and fuschia colored Rhododendron. Mountain Laurel and Wild Azalea blossoms adorn her side. Summer brings children squealing with delight as they frolic and play at the many summer camps in Mentone. Autumn on Lookout Mountain is gloriously adorned in her beautiful array of fall colors. Scenic drives beckon you along the Lookout Mountain Parkway, through Desoto State Park & Little River Canyon & across Sand Mountain to DeKalb County Public Fishing Lake, High Falls Park & Buck's Pocket State Park. Winter drifts in as downtown shoppers get ready for Christmas and the novice and those eager to learn hone their skills at Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort. Beautiful scenery is yours to enjoy as you visit the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in DeKalb County, Alabama.